Pop star Omar Apollo has shared new details about his NSFW EP cover.
On 6 October, the 26-year-old talent released the follow-up to his debut album Ivory with his fourth EP, Live for Me.
Featuring four songs, including his hit single ‘Ice Slippin,’ the alt-R&B record explores themes of grief, heartbreak and acceptance.
While the record has received praise from fans and critics for its experimental sound and Apollo’s immersive lyricism, the EP has also garnered attention for its NSFW artwork.
The front cover of the vinyl is innocent enough, featuring a painted version of Apollo lying down shirtless.
However things take a spicy turn on the back cover, which features another painted version of Apollo nude and with an erect penis.
Of course, it didn’t take long for fans to purchase eye-opening vinyl, with the ‘Evergreen’ singer revealing that 1400 copies were sold in seven minutes in an X (formerly known as Twitter) post.
With the EP continuing to make waves among fans, Apollo opened up about creating the cover with artist Doran Langberg during the Live For Me Immersive Listening Experience event at New York City’s MoMA PS1.
Live For Me Vinyl on sale tomorrow 8:30am pst! uncensored back cover portrait available with purchase 🍆🤫 im excittttedd pic.twitter.com/VY2l1T9qIK
— Omar Apollo (@omarapollo) September 28, 2023
“We got into this studio which I’ve already been in, we hung out, we talked, we had a great time, we connected,” the ‘Useless’ singer explained (via a video taken by X user @kwprime).
“Then, we do the first painting. And then I go, ‘Let’s go get a sandwich, let’s go do a lunch break, and then you decide afterwards if you still want to do the dick portrait.'”
Landberg added that Apollo seemed nervous about doing the portrait, stating: “I was like, ‘How do I encourage this to make you feel comfortable?'”
In response, the ‘Pretty Boy’ singer admitted to being nervous about the whole thing despite being a “confident guy”.
Towards the end of their statement, Apollo revealed that they took inspiration from Peter Hujar and his popular nude photography artwork.
“So yeah, he paints from observation,” the signer said, which resulted in a gleeful reaction from the crowd.
“It was exhilarating. I was like, ‘Woah’. You should all check out [Doran’s] work. She’s a superstar,” he concluded.
You can watch the full clip here or below.
Omar Apollo recalls the day *THAT* EP artwork was painted pic.twitter.com/PquS9d8Rf8
— Kevin Wong 🚀 (@kwprime) October 27, 2023
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